Prototypes of .hack
This is a list of prototypes of the Project .hack and .hack Conglomerate series. Great Thief Forteprotze Originally a "Theft Game" designed by CyberConnect2, "Great Thief Forteprotze," later known as "Moon Crow," followed a treasure thief. It further developed into the idea of hackers, giving creation to the term "Treasure Hacker," which became .hack. In addition, the development team that created .hack derived the name Kite romanized from the Japanese word "Kaitou" meaning "phantom thief." The source of inspiration for Great Thief Forteprotze was Alice in Wonderland. The title provided a foundation for "Morganna" whom is loosely based upon the queen of hearts and "Mia" whose character design originates from the Cheshire Cat. Lios was inspired by the Mad Hatter. Trivia *The original character for the project was a female, with two horns wielding a dagger. Super-Hot Game Version! thumb|Azure Kite-like Figure Each of the Legend of the Twilight manga included a short comic. In the story, Kite and Balmung battle each other. In an attempt to gain victory, Balmung unleashes a level 13 Omega spell, however he is still defeated. The Kite in the story is believed to a prototype of the one that later appeared in the G.U. series, as hinted by Balmung’s reference to Kite’s title; "Oh that’s right. I was defeated... By that Azure Flame," and his final words before being Data Drained are "This man... That Kite! Not Him…!" In addition, the Kite in the story bears a resemblance with Azure Kite. Trivia *The phrase “On to G.U.” appears at the end, an indication of future games. However, this was not translated by Tokyopop. .hack//G.U. Prototype Trailer A trailer released by CyberConnect2 in 2004 that previewed the upcoming G.U. Games. The trailer followed the same general outline as the later E3 one, starting off with a fallen Haseo recently PKed. The screen then flashes to a desert with Haseo standing atop a cliff staring down at a group people attacking another player. The player is PKed, and then Haseo makes an entrance. The group directs their attention toward the challenger, but Haseo pulls out his weapons and battle ensues. Throughout the battle the original designs for each Epitaph User along with their title appear on the screen. The scene ends with Haseo pulling out a scythe. Afterwards, the trailer proceeds to the Cathedral. In the Cathedral, the Aura Statue remains still wrapped in eight chains. Haseo walks up to the pillar, looking up in remembrance. Prototypes of Shino flash across the scene. Soon after, Haseo then turns to leave, when suddenly the tone is heard and an electrical surge passes down. Haseo redirects his attention to the occurrences behind him; Azure Kite appears in a fury of azure flames. Kite’s weapons extend into three blades, and a Sign is shown over the screen. Haseo withdraws his blade and battle begins. Haseo attacks with all of his anger, constantly changing his weapons during the fight, yet the entire time he is unable to break through Kite’s defenses. The result of the battle ends with Kite lifting his arm and performing Data Drain. The trailer flows through a brief recap of the characters before shifting to back to Haseo, who is standing in Avatar Space while holding his head. Thunder then passes across the screen and Skeith in his original form manifests behind Haseo. Haseo's vision fades and logos pop up promoting the series. The trailer ends with Ovan reaching his hand out to a fallen Haseo voicing the Japanese quote "Welcome to the World." Trivia *The prototype seemly follows the original game aspects on class as seen through the character models of the PKers Haseo fights in the trailer and the sketch of Pi that depicts her as a twin blade, via the large blades shown by her hands. Additional information states that all three Haseo’s weapons appear the .hack//G.U. game in some form. Further analysis notes that Kite’s bracelet in the trailer is shown in the form of “X” as he activates Data Drain. In addition, the "Empty Skies" weapon is also slightly differ in appearance.